San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and Chicago White Sox DH Adam Dunn are Sporting News’ 2012 NL and AL Comeback Players of the Year, respectively, as selected by a panel of 203 major league players.

Posey won the NL batting title with a .336 average (suspended teammate Melky Cabrera hit .346 but removed himself from consideration) and set career highs with 24 homers and 103 RBIs this season. His .408 on-base percentage and .549 slugging percentage—also career bests—ranked in the top four in the NL.

Because of those numbers, Posey is considered a front-runner (if not the favorite) for the NL MVP Award after helping to lead the Giants to the NL West title and to the World Series.

Posey’s 2011 season ended on May 25 after a violent collision at home plate resulted in a fractured left fibula and surgery to repair three torn ligaments in his left ankle.

“It was a situation where I came into the year and I obviously have expectations for myself,” Posey says. “But not knowing where I’d be physically or how I’d feel throughout the course of the year, I was just happy to be back on the field. The numbers are nice, but that’s the rewarding part.”

While Posey battled back from a season-ending injury in 2011, Dunn recovered from a career-worst offensive performance. Last season, he hit just .159 with 11 homers, 42 RBIs, a .292 on-base percentage and a .277 slugging percentage in his first year with the White Sox and as a DH.

“It’s an award I hope I never win again. It’s kind of bittersweet because one of two things has to happen for you to win this award. That’s you are injured probably for most of the year or you’ve had a bad, really terrible season. The good thing is it semi-turned around (this) year,” Dunn says.

The previous seven seasons—all spent in the NL as an outfielder/first baseman—he had averaged 40 homers and 101 RBIs

Dunn bounced back this season to hit 41 homers and drive in 96 runs, though his .204 batting average still was 36 points below his career mark. He .333 on-base percentage and .468 slugging percentages also rebounded, though not to his career norms. His production, coupled with that fellow comeback candidate Alex Rios, was a big reason the White Sox contended for the AL Central title until the final week of the regular season.

So, what did Dunn do differently this season?

“Nothing. … I did obviously better than I did the year before but nothing that I haven’t done for eight or nine years. I didn’t have any really major setback and I didn’t miss as lengthy an amount of time,” Dunn says.